One of the goals of Manhattan Wood Project is to create interest in woodworking and to teach techniques and tips that current woodworkers may not have thought of. Our projects vary from useful to whimsical and from rough to fine woodwork. While the videos are free, we also make custom woodwork products for those without the time, ability, or desire to make their own.

Interview

Intro

I’m Robert Rieke, and I’ve been running the Manhattan Wood Project website and YouTube channel for nearly two years. I enjoy making all kinds of woodworking projects, but I tend to focus on items that are needed around the house and in the shop. I love to get my three children involved in the woodworking and video processes, and look forward to seeing their creative sides whenever they get into the shop. I work full-time at Los Alamos National Laboratory and take engineering classes from the University of New Mexico, so I have to do my woodworking when time permits.

Stats: Amateur hobbyist with aspirations of greatness (or at least great products and some sales, eventually)

I started woodworking in sixth grade in shop class, but didn’t do much after that because I was busy with school, and later, my time in the U.S. Navy. After that eighteen year hiatus, I got hired at Los Alamos National Laboratory and bought my Shopsmith four years ago. Since then, I’ve been knocking out woodworking projects left and right.

Can you remember your first project and what it was?

I think my first project was a spinning disc about two inches in a diameter with a loop of string going through the middle. It was a great introduction to woodworking since it involved cutting a circle with a jigsaw, hand-sanding, and drilling two small holes. It was simple, and gave me a feeling that I could build anything I want.

What made you decide to start producing online content? (blog or video)

After watching a lot of woodworking videos on YouTube, I decided to make Mustache Day for friends and family to see the kids. After a few of them told me I should make more videos, I decided to keep going. A couple videos later, the YouTube woodworking community noticed me and welcomed me as one of their own. The positive experiences from them and from my friends and family have kept me motivated ever since then.

What was your first video project?

My first video was Mustache Day. One of my daughters told me she was having a “mustache day” at school, and asked if I could make her something. I remembered watching a video by Steve Ramsey about making mustaches, and decided to make a couple variations with my scroll saw.

Do you only do woodworking or do you work with any other materials?

I mostly work with wood, but I try to integrate other materials when possible. For example, I put glass panes that used to be display shelves in my Seedling Cart/Mobile Greenhouse. Due to a limited budget, I have to stick to materials that are cheap and easy to find, such as pallets, 2x4’s and scrap plywood I’ve been keeping for years. I’ve got ideas and plans to add metal and electrical parts, but those projects are on hold until I can afford what I need.

What is your favorite project you have made so far?

It’s hard to pick a favorite because some projects have a lot of meaning. The birdhouses my children built are special to me because they did most of the work themselves and got to use new tools. Their enthusiasm was incredible, and I like the birdhouses so much that I would prefer to put them in their bedrooms instead of putting them outside to get used.

My favorite project of mine is probably my set of Personalized Vent Registers that are mounted in our hallway and bedrooms. My wife and I designed them, and my father and I worked together to make them out of 1/4-inch plywood during my house overhaul. I think it adds a nice personal touch to the house.

My close second favorite is probably a set of three red oak Kokopelli figures I designed and cut on the scroll saw. They were my first real creative/artsy attempt at woodworking, and they stand above our front door and add an air of New Mexico to the house. I didn’t make a video of them since it was a spur of the moment project, but I hope to correct that in the next year or so.

Do you have a favorite tool, if so what is it?

I would have to say that my Shopsmith Mark 7 is my favorite tool. I waited and saved up to purchase it because I had a small garage, and I knew I would never have room for a lot of individual tools. It not only gives me room to spread out my other junk in my garage, but it also sits there and challenges me to find new uses for it. I would probably never have purchased a lathe on my own because they tend to scare me, but the Shopsmith seemed to sit there and glare at me until I used the lathe. Since then, I’ve turned a few projects and am saving up to buy some chucks for turning bowls.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

A lot of my inspiration comes from two lists: To-Do and Honey-Do. I spent a good part of last year working on projects to organize the garage and make it easier to work in there, like my French Cleats, and also made a lot of projects to work on the house overhaul.

One good source of inspiration I’ve found is the YouTube woodworking community. Last year, I took part in five contests that gave me a good reason to put aside my necessity lists and do something creative. My favorite contest project was my 2x4 Pirate Chest Bank, which was part of the 2x4 contest sponsored by Summers Woodworking.

I am hoping to get away from my lists and start working on more creative projects in the next year. My children are always offering ideas that I find intriguing, although a lot of them are beyond my current skill and tool levels.

What do you have coming up in the near future?

The next few months are going to be a lot of fun. I am helping a good friend build a huge cherry coffee table, and I am planning on a couple more shop projects to get more organized.

I am also very excited about a new long-term project I'm starting. I am working with a good friend to start an upcycling channel on YouTube so supplement a site he's currently building, and will be highlighting projects that can be easily made with very little money or experience. Many of the projects will make use of pallets and scraps, but there will also be many projects that utilize non-wood materials. Our goal is to inspire others to look differently at materials that would normally be thrown away, and to turn them into useful and artistic projects. I'll be able to provide more details in an upcoming video, after we give each other a green light.

What advice would you give someone that may want to start making things?

Start simple and cheap. A pallet or a piece of 2x4, a bottle of glue, and a handsaw can make a lot of things and provide a lot of practice material without spending much money.

Don’t over-invest. A $50 jigsaw can work as well as a $1,000 table saw if you only use it three times a year. A cheap piece of poplar can be stained to look like cherry, and will be less expensive (and easier to find) than actual cherry wood.

Be patient. Sanding and waiting for glue to dry make time drag, especially when you are excited to move on to the next step. Rushing either one will cause rework (if you’re lucky) or make your project look worse than it would have (if you’re not so lucky).

Don’t give up, take a bad project and learn from it. You’ll never cut a perfect dovetail without cutting a bad one, and the bad dovetail should be a challenge to make a better one next time.

Overengineer, but don’t overplan. Your projects will almost always require some modifications “on-the-fly” because of changes in material thickness, tools or parts growing legs and walking away, or some other unexpected situation. No plan will, or should, survive contact with tools unscathed.

You are your own worst critic, be proud and don’t sell yourself short. Nobody is going to notice if your picture frame isn’t perfectly square and is 1/8-inch shy of your original design unless you tell them. Nobody is going to care if you had to use putty to fill a small hole unless you show them.

Join a woodworking community or club. There may be a woodworking club near you. There are woodworking websites and Facebook pages where everyone, beginner and advanced, can ask questions and show what they are building.

Just do it. Tools can be found cheap at garage sales and pallets are free from a lot of places. The only person stopping you from making something great is the one that looks at you in the mirror.

Thank you for the opportunity to do this interview. It gave me a good chance to sit down and think through what I enjoy about my woodworking, something I've needed for a while.

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Disclaimer: Any video or tutorial are intended for entertainment and inspiration purpose only and not educational. Woodworking and power tools can be dangerous. I may use a tool in a certain way, does NOT mean you should. Always seek professional advice or training and please read any manual before using any power tool. If you have any uncertainty before performing any woodworking procedure, stop and learn a safer alternative method. Do not attempt anything simply because you saw it via wackywoodworks.co.nz. I do not accept any responsibility for any injuries you may incur from replication of what you see in these videos.